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All the way to Portugal to attend one of the best medieval festivals in Europe

Since we discovered medieval festivals we have developed a particular liking to visiting places where we knew a medieval fair or festival was going on. Up to now, these were all nearby in Tuscany but at the end of July we all of a sudden found ourselves in Portugal, in Óbidos to be more precise, at one of the most beautiful medieval fairs in Europe – how did we end up here?

It is all started a year ago at the Volterra medieval festival when we started talking to the members of La Giostra after their show. They began to tell us about their summer tour in Portugal, how beautiful the country was, how everything was very affordable and, above all, about the special care and attention they paid to the recreation of a medieval festival and about the Óbidos fair in particular. They made us really want to see it for ourselves.

Once we learned that this summer La Giostra would be once again returning to Óbidos, and so would the Barbarian Pipe Band [www.barbarianpipeband.com], the decision to go was fairly easy to take. These are the two musical groups we like the best from the ones we’ve seen at the fairs we’ve gone so far and we really wanted to see what this fair looked like.
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Con alegrezza… al calar de lo sole!

Those who have the good fortune to be in Catania this coming up weekend will have the chance on Sunday September 6 to participate in a small but promising medieval fair to be held at the Ursino Castle.

Outside of the castle, starting at 9 a.m.,  a medieval hamlet will be reconstructed and will include include figures from courtly life as well as common folk which will recreate the ambiance of having stepped back in time. Parades, dances, drum groups as well as musicians, minstrels and jesters on wooden sticks, fencing demonstrations with ancient medieval weapons.

Artisans will also demonstrate practical working techniques, while a medieval market will allow visitors to make purchases of items recalling a past age. Wandering shows will entertain the public throughout the market.

Finally, at noon, inside the castle, visitors will enjoy the concert by Compagnia La Giostra which will present their latest album “Con alegrezza… al calar de lo sole!” (With good cheer… as the sun sets”). It will be an occasion for the Sicilian group to finally perform in their own native land at the end of a long summer tour at medieval fairs across Europe!

The event is part of a wider organized program called the Itineraries of Federico II of Svevia.

We’re very tempted to hop on a plane to Catania… but in any case, if you’re in the area don’t miss this event!

You can read more information on the official page »

We went for the first time this last Saturday to the medieval festival held in the village of Roccatederighi. We had visited the small town perched on a rock last autumn on our trip to the upper Maremma hill area in Tuscany and we had remained enchanted (you can read our post from back then here). We had heard of this special festival held in August every year and resolved to go back this summer.

The festival has been held for a few years now and goes from Friday to Sunday on the first or second weekend in August. Together with the Palio dei Ciuchi (Donkey race held on the 14th of August), it represents the main event for the town of Roccatederighi.

We didn’t know what to expect, we honestly thought it might be little more than a local town fair with aspirations of becoming a medieval festival. It was a handy excuse to return to Roccatederighi and to the Locanda nel Cassero in the nearby Civitella Marittima, an excellent small restaurant we had enjoyed discovering on our last trip (if excuses are needed to enjoy fine dining)

We soon had to rethink our expectations as we saw the large amount of people the event had attracted from the surrounding area (as well as from further afield, including us). Beyond the ancient door, the small village was overflowing with both local residents and visitors.

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